A study in China has revealed that people with insomnia have significantly higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
The study, which examined almost 500,000 people, found that the risk of heart attack or stroke increases by almost 20% in people with insomnia. The findings add to numerous studies linking insomnia to poor health outcomes.
It is a widespread belief that insomnia, suffered by approximately one in three adults, changes bodily functions. Meanwhile, experts say that sleep is important as a restorative time, making the person feel energized and refreshed.
For 10 years, the researchers examined 480,000 people with an average age of 51 and had no history of heart problems. They asked participants if they had any of three symptoms of insomnia at least three days per week, namely trouble falling or staying asleep, waking up too early or trouble staying focused during the day due to poor sleep.
Over this time period, they recorded 130,032 cases of stroke, heart attack and cardiovascular disease. Results were adjusted for other factors affecting stroke or heart disease risk, including alcohol consumption, smoking, and level of physical activity.
The researchers discovered that participants with all three insomnia symptoms had 18% risk to develop the conditions. Those who woke up too early in the morning and could not get back to sleep were at a 7% increased risk while people having trouble staying focused during the day due to poor sleep had a 13% higher risk.
Study author Dr. Liming Li from Beijing University, said: "These results suggest that if we can target people who are having trouble sleeping with behavioral therapies, it's possible that we could reduce the number of cases of stroke, heart attack and other diseases later down the line."
"The link between insomnia symptoms and these diseases was even stronger in younger adults and people who did not have high blood pressure at the start of the study. So future research should look especially at early detection and interventions aimed at these groups," Li added.
